John Bolton in 2010: ‘If I Had to Say Something I Knew Was False to Protect American National Security, I Would Do It’

NAPOLITANO: “Question: Don’t the American people have the right to know that? And if so, didn’t a good service come about as the result of these documents being revealed?”
BOLTON: “I want to make the case for secrecy in government when it comes to the conduct of national security affairs, and possibly for deception where that’s appropriate. You know, Winston Churchill said during World War II that in wartime, truth is so important it should be surrounded by a bodyguard of lies.”
NAPOLITANO: “Do you really believe that?”
BOLTON: “Absolutely.”
NAPOLITANO: “You would lie in order to preserve the truth?”
BOLTON: “If I had to say something I knew was false to protect American national security, I would do it. I don’t think we’re often faced with that difficulty. But would I lie about where the D-Day invasion was going to take place to deceive the Germans? You better believe it.”
NAPOLITANO: “Why do people in the government think that the rules of society or the laws don’t apply to them?”
BOLTON: “Because they are not dealing in the civil society we live in under the Constitution. They are dealing in an anarchic environment internationally where different rules apply.”